PostIt Comix 3: I Want Mitski to Be My Mom

I’m holding my breath with a baseball bat
Though I don’t know what I’m waiting for
I am not gonna be what my daddy wants me to be

I’m gonna be what my body wants me to be

-Mitski, Townie

List of ways Mitski feels like my mom:

Asian female role model

Her clothes look comfortable

Kind

Yells sometimes

I don’t actually want Mitski to be my mom. But there’s something about the way her words tell me exactly what I need to hear, tell me all the damaging stuff I’m doing to myself, tell me to take care of myself more, that feels like a good cry after calling your mom.

I went to (another) Mitski concert last night, and it was all the energy and catharsis that I feel every time I listen to her music alone. If you’ve never been to one, it’s like you, your tears, your racial angst, your tenuous self-esteem, and an echoing scream in a large dark room. It sounds like how you’d imagine your favorite dish from home tastes like.

And here’s one last thing. Mitski reminds me to treat my body like a friend. Something I sometimes disagree with, but something I need to respect and listen to.

So here I am, body- I’m listening.

-PostIt Comix is a weekly comic strip + blog post series that I (Jessica Jin) will be running throughout the year.